We’ve just arrived back home from the most wonderful holiday in France with two of our friends and their two little girls (if you follow me on Instagram you might have seen lots of snippets from our holiday already), and it was the loveliest place ever! I think we’ve all pretty much agreed that we need to return next year, haha! We had rented an Airbnb in the countryside of Entre-Deux-Guiers, which is located only 30 minutes by car from Grenoble or Chambéry. We drove to Chambéry a couple times, and it’s such a lovely and charming little city that still has plenty of things to offer, both cafés and various different shops and malls – without being overcrowded by tourists. We drove down there ourselves and from Aabenraa the drive takes around 15 hours. Following our long (too long) drive to south Italy last year, I think this might be the perfect distance for us. We drove during the night without any sleepovers (we switched every once in a while so we could both sleep a little in the car, and then of course we stopped for a few breaks too), and it was great driving during the night to avoid too much traffic. But man, was it hard to drive at that time of the hour. When we had to drive home we drove early in the morning instead, but then of course there were a lot more traffic and we also got stuck in a few jams. So really I don’t know which one I prefer: to drive during the night or during the day. Maybe we should just take a sleepover halfway somewhere next year. But it’s definitely doable to drive all the way down there without spending the night somewhere (unless you have kids of course). You just need some patience (and snacks) and make sure to take al the breaks you need.

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Vi er netop vendt hjem fra ferie i Frankrig med to af vores venner og deres to små piger (de af jer som følger med ovre på Instagram har nok fulgt med en del af ugen), og det var simpelthen det skønneste sted! Jeg tror vi alle er ret enige om at vi er nødt til at vende tilbage næste år igen, haha! Vi havde lejet den fineste Airbnb i Entre-Deux-Guiers som er en lille landsby ude på landet, med kun en halv times kørsel til Grenoble eller Chambéry. Vi kørte til sidstnævnte et par gange, og det er en super hyggelig lille by som alligevel har mange fine(også de mere velkendte) butikker og caféer, uden at være totalt overrendt af turister. Vi kørte derned selv, og fra Aabenraa er det en køretur på ca. 15 timer. Efter vores lange køretur til Italien sidste år (også for lange), så tror jeg denne distance er helt perfekt for os til en kør-selv ferie. Vi tog køreturen over natten i ét stræk (hvor vi skiftedes til at sove og køre, og så holdt vi selvfølgelig pauser undervejs), så vi undgik køer. Det gjorde vi i dén grad også, men hold nu op det er hårdt at køre om natten. Vi kørte tidligt om morgenen i stedet da vi skulle hjem dernede fra, men der holdt vi så til gengæld i kø og kørte meget langsomt i perioder på grund af tæt trafik. Så egentlig ved jeg ikke hvad jeg foretrækker; at køre om natten eller om dagen. Måske skal vi forlænge ferien næste gang, så vi kan overnatte et sted på vejen. Men det kan altså sagtens lade sig gøre i ét stræk (med mindre man har små børn). Man skal bare væbne sig med tålmodighed (og snacks) og sørge for at holde en god stak pauser.

We lived only a few minutes from the local supermarket, which was pretty amazing. We talked about it on the way to our Airbnb, that there weren’t that many supermarkets in those little countryside villages. The fact that we then had one located pretty much in our backyard was lucky for us! We cooked ourselves for most of the time, but we also picked up a few pizzas at ‘Case A Pizza’ in Saint-Laurent-Du-Pont a couple times, which is only like 5 km’s away from the Airbnb. Amazing pizza, seriously!! Besides that we also ate lunch in Chambéry a couple times, which was really nice. In the city of Entre-Deux-Guiers, which is a 10 minute walk away, there’s not a lot of things to see or do other than lots of charming, French buildings and then a few local shops. I went there one day with the girls when Morten and Steffan were participating in La Marmotte (the bicycle race that were the main reason we went for a holiday in this specific area). We bought a few cakes at the local bakery, ate them outside and then went into cute little shop afterwards. We didn’t buy anything but it was nice to browse through the selection of various French scented candles, soap bars and home decor.

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Vi boede kun et par minutter fra det lokale supermarked, hvilket var ret fantastisk. Vi snakkede nemlig om på vej ud til vores Airbnb, at det godt nok ikke var mange supermarkeder man sådan så, i de der små landsbyer. At der så lå en lige bag ved vores hus var jo bare mega dejligt! Vi lavede mad selv det meste af tiden, men vi hentede også pizza et par gange ved ‘Case A Pizza’ i Saint-Laurent-Du-Pont, der liger ca. 5 km væk. Virkelig lækker pizza, seriøst!! Udover det spiste vi også frokost et par gange i Chambéry, hvilket også var rigtig hyggeligt. I Entre-Deux-Guiers by, som lå 10 minutters gang fra vores Airbnb, er der ikke meget at se udover virkelig charmerende bygninger og et par enkelte små butikker. Jeg gik derind med pigerne den dag Morten og Steffan skulle deltage i La Marmotte (cykelløbet de skulle deltage i om søndagen, der var den primære årsag vi holdt ferie lige netop i dette område). Vi købte nogle kager på det lokale bageri som vi spiste på en bænk, og så kiggede vi lidt den lokale brugskunstforretning. Vi købte ikke noget, men det var alligevel ganske hyggeligt at gå og kigge på deres udvalg af duftlys, sæber og nips.

In Chambéry we went into a shop called Les Comptoir Des Mathilde a couple times. Such a wonderful store filled with French specialities like chocolate, pesto, tea and various different oils for cooking. We also picked up a little something for the people who were babysitting Oskar in that very store. We left him in Denmark because we weren’t sure of how hot it was going to be down there (the week before there had just been a heatwave with temperatures up to 40 degrees!), and besides we weren’t allowed to bring pets to the Airbnb. I think we might just bring him along next time though, if we can find as lovely an Airbnb as the one we stayed in where you’re allowed to bring pets. Inside the temperature was pretty cool, and when we went out for dinner we ate outside in the shade anyway, so he might as well have been laying underneath the table. We often do that when we eat out here in Denmark, so he’s getting pretty used to that whole thing. I always miss him terribly when we’re away, and I think it could be nice with a roadtrip where he’s with us at some point.

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Inde Chambéry var vi inde i en butik der hed Les Comptoir Des Mathilde et par gange. En sindssygt lækker lille butik fuld af franske specialiteter som chokolade, pesto, te og diverse olier. Der købte vi også en lille gave til dem som passede Oskar, mens vi var væk. Vi lod ham blive hjemme i Danmark, for vi var ikke sikre på hvor varmt det ville blive dernede (ugen forinden havde der været hedebølge med op til 40 grader), og desuden måtte vi heller ikke have ham i den Airbnb vi havde lejet. Men næste år tror jeg nu bare vi tager ham med, hvis vi kan finde en anden Airbnb der er lige så lækker hvor man må have kæledyr med. Der var ganske køligt indenfor, og når vi var ude og spise sad vi alligevel udenfor i skyggen, så han kunne sagtens have ligget og hvilet sig under bordet mens vi spiste. Det gør vi tit herhjemme, så han er efterhånden vant til det. Jeg savner ham altid frygteligt når vi er  væk, og jeg tror det kunne være super hyggeligt med en lille roadtrip hvor han også får lov at være med!

We spend most of the days relaxing by the pool, which we had completely for ourselves, as well as the entire house of course. It was great especially for the little ones, who as soon as they woke up were all about jumping into the pool, haha! I also brought my guitar so I could practise every night, just like I’v been doing at home the past month or so. It was such a lovely holiday just as it should be, where you eat a little something all the time, you’re wearing your bathing suit the entire day and wearing no makeup at all. Just as you are. We could easily have stayed for another week but our friends drove on to a family-friendly Campside with the girls and Morten and I had to go back to pick up Oskar. We still have two weeks together before Morten has to get back to work, and we’re going to spend them at home in Denmark (which is cold and grey at the moment, grrrr), but I’m also gonna work a little bit some of the days. I pick up work and leave it a little more loosely and relaxed though (if Morten is out on his bike for a few hours for example), which is quite a nice and enjoyable way of working. 

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De fleste dage blev tilbragt ved poolen, som vi udover huset, havde helt for os selv. Det var et hit især for de mindste, der så snart de spærrede øjnene op ikke kunne tale om andet, end at springe i poolen, haha! Jeg havde også min guitar med så jeg kunne øve hver aften, ligesom jeg har gjort herhjemme den sidste måneds tid. Det var en dejlig ferie lige efter bogen, hvor man går og hyggespiser lidt hele tiden, er iført badetøj dagen lang og går rundt uden makeup. Vi kunne snildt være blevet dernede en uge mere, men vores vennepar skulle videre på en campingplads med ungerne, og Morten og jeg skulle hjem til Oskar. Nu står de sidste to ugers ferie på afslapning herhjemme i Danmark (der er kold og grå lige nu, grrr), men også lidt arbejde for mit vedkommende. Jeg går lidt til og fra som jeg har lyst (hvis Morten tager sig en lang cykeltur fx), og arbejder i et lidt langsommere tempo end normalt hvilket er virkelig dejligt og faktisk ret hyggeligt.